"This is a woman in an environment that is not familiar, in an environment that we all know has had some security issues.

"She wasn't intoxicated, she wasn't using illicit substances, she simply by her own accord forgot to text her team manager to tell her where she was.

"She could have been spoken to without banning her from this Olympic ceremony."

A Change.org petition has also been set up in a bid to rectify what creator Melanie Wright called a "knee jerk over-reaction", and fans have tweeted their support for McKeon using the hashtag #LetHerDance.

McKeon 'disappointed' by ban, father says

McKeon's father Ron earlier said his daughter was following the protocol of not travelling alone and banning her from the closing ceremony was a harsh penalty.

"She is disappointed but also thinks its been quite a harsh penalty for what it was," he said.

"For me safety is a priority, but I don't want this to be the defining thing about her Olympic experience and it shouldn't be."